Opened on February 24, 1932, the 1,797-seat Paramount Theater was the last of the great movie palaces erected on downtown Boston’s Washington Street, and the only one built exclusively for talking pictures. It was closed in 1976, and much of its interior detail was lost during asbestos removal in the 1980’s.

In 2002, Millennium Partners painstakingly restored the Paramount’s facade, marquee, and vertical sign. Millennium agreed to do this in exchange for city approval of their adjacent Ritz-Carlton Towers project (which included the new 19-screen Loews Boston Common cinema). The sign is occasionally lit up at night, and is a glorious sight to see.

On April 13, 2005, Emerson College announced plans to redevelop the Paramount’s interior into two live stages, one seating about 450 and the other 75 to 125. Emerson would also redevelop an adjoining building which once contained the bijou Theatre and will construct a new building in a vacant lot that once contained b.F. Keith’s Theatre. The entire development, to be called the Paramount Center, will provide Emerson with much-needed dormitory and rehearsal space.

Emerson College has won much praise for its restoration of the nearby Cutler Majestic Theatre, so its involvement in the Paramount is great news for Washington Street.

The Paramount Theater reopened as a performing arts center on March 6, 2010 and is now known as part of the Paramount Center. A new, main 590-seat theatre was created with Art Deco style splendour, with seating for 326 in the orchestra level and 264 in the balcony.

Ron Newman- the front-to-back distance in the new Paramount auditorium is shorter than the original. (from the proscenium to the rear auditorium wall). The stage and the foyers are larger in this theater than those in the original.

This appears to be solely decorative right now, as there are no openable windows from it to the sidewalk. The windows are frosted so you can’t see inside. It is not a separate structure but is part of the theatre building. A locked door leads from the vestibule lobby (between the inner and outer doors) to this structure.

There appears to be a way to project film on the Paramount mainstage. Last night on New Year’s Eve (aka First Night 2011), the Paramount presented this event, which featured a live band accompanying thirteen Andy Warhol ‘Screen Test’ films. The films were black-and-white silents, shot in 16mm in Academy ratio (4x3).

The ABC-TV outlet in Boston, WCVB, Ch 5,has a long-time early evening program called “Chronical” which visits various places and areas in New England. On Monday Jan. 12, there was a 30-minute visit to the Boston Theatre District. However, they only covered one section of the district, centered on the Opera House on Washington Street. And somehow, after 15 minutes, the show wandered off-topic, and I actually fell asleep out of boredom during the last 5 minutes. Hey, “Chronical” staff, if you want viewers to come back, you’ve gotta do a better job than this! Some misinformation on the program: ### The Modern Theater was THE place to go for movies in Boston ### No, hardly. ### Your grandparents went to the Paramount to see the likes of Frank Sinatra and Benny Goodman perform ### No, there were no stage shows there. ### There is a secret passageway from the Paramount to the Opera House ###. Pure claptrap. The only passageway between the two theaters is the sidewalk out front. Who makes up these foolish stories??

My dad managed the Paramount for several years in the late 40’s and 50’s. I found this photo from 1953 taken in the lobby of the Paramount:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/b6s1kulptegki0j/IMG_1787%20%281%29.jpg?dl=0

He’s the guy with his right hand on the plaque. You’ll notice the typo calling the event the “50th Anniversary of Supersonic Flight” rather than the “50th Anniversary of Flight” as the Wright Brothers flew in December 1903. The wall poster in the background on the right is for John Wayne’s 1953 movie “Island in the Sky.”

Dad also participated in the rededication of the Paramount Center in March 2010 at the age of 90. Here he is being interviewed at the event:

My dad managed the Paramount for several years in the late 40’s and 50’s. I found this photo from 1953 taken in the lobby of the Paramount:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/b6s1kulptegki0j/IMG_1787%20%281%29.jpg?dl=0

He’s the guy with his right hand on the plaque. You’ll notice the typo calling the event the “50th Anniversary of Supersonic Flight” rather than the “50th Anniversary of Flight” as the Wright Brothers flew in December 1903. The wall poster in the background on the right is for John Wayne’s 1953 movie “Island in the Sky.”

Dad also participated in the rededication of the Paramount Center in March 2010 at the age of 90. Here he is being interviewed at the event: